Best universal motorcycle luggage buying guide | Find the best ways to haul it all... on any bike

One of the drawbacks of riding a motorbike is that you can’t carry as much with you as you can in other types of vehicles – but this can be improved with some universal motorcycle luggage.

Whether you’re commuting to work, doing the weekly shop or taking a long trip or bike tour, there are simple luggage options that can add litres of storage to any bike.

From soft panniers to riding rucksacks, and tank bags to tail packs, whatever style of bike you ride there is an option out there that will work.

Some bikes are better suited to the job – a touring bike will always have more carrying capability than a sportsbike – but with a bit of research and some creative thinking, anyone can fit luggage to their machine.

Things to consider before you buy

Motorcycle luggage is incredibly useful and extends the usability of your motorbike, but there are a few things to keep in mind.

Not all luggage has every feature you might want, especially on the more budget end of things, but some luggage accessories can help to fill that gap without needing to spend top dollar. For example, you might not mind a tail bag that isn’t waterproof if you can get a waterproof cover for it. Or, you can add a security cable to non-lockable panniers for extra peace of mind. Even if a bag doesn’t have its own straps included, they’re a cheap and plentiful add-on.

Motorcycles have maximum payloads; that’s the combined weight of you, any passenger you may be carrying, and your luggage. It is unsafe to exceed this weight, and it will affect the bike’s performance and brakes in the best case, or lead to snapped subframes or other component failure in extreme cases.

You should also consider the distribution of the load you wish to carry. Piling a lot of weight up high will affect the bike’s handling and make it difficult to manage at slow speed. Or, if you opt for panniers and fill one side with socks and the other side with tools, you will find yourself listing on the motorway.

There are also lots of luggage options that come as factory accessories and even bikes that come fitted with panniers and a top box as standard, so shop around when you buy your bike or consider haggling with the dealer to get them chucked into your PCP deal.

Best universal motorbike luggage

About the testers

Justin Hayzelden – MCN’s Products Editor and resident bike kit guru, Justin has covered hundreds of thousands of miles on two wheels both at work and in his personal life. In this page, he tested the Kriega R8 waistbag, and the Kriega Rollpack.

Michael Neeves – MCN Chief Road Tester, ‘Neevesy’ has ridden almost every new bike for more than a decade on multiple continents. He needs kit he can trust to do the the job – whatever the conditions. For this page he tested the Alpinestars AMP-7 backpack, and the SW Motech Pro City tank bag.

Ben Clarke – Deputy Head of Digital, Ben has worked at MCN since 2018 testing bikes and kit every opportunity he gets. For this page he tested the QBag Tail Bag 4.

Saffron Wilson – Staff Writer, Saffron covers thousands of miles in all weathers getting the latest news and features for the paper. For this page she tested the Oxford Aqua V20 backpack.

How MCN tests luggage

Here at MCN, we make it our mission to help you find the right kit for you, at the right price for your budget. We don’t crash test (on purpose), nor lab test; there’s no substitute for just putting in the miles with them. We test our luggage the same way you’ll use yours, by riding.

And, we make sure to put at least 1000 miles in them before sharing our findings. Our word is backed by hundreds of thousands of miles in the saddle collectively, but our recommendations come from each tester individually.

While testing, we predominantly focus on comfort, looks, build quality, protection, and value. When we write up our full reviews, we’ll give each piece of luggage a rating out of five stars in each of these categories, and offer a final verdict too. This page is only for the best universal luggage, so every piece you’ll see has been awarded at least four stars overall – that’s the passing grade – but here’s what each score really means:

1 star – Poor performance in this category or overall. a piece of luggage with a single star rating has fallen below the expected standard and should be avoided.
2 stars – Basic performance in this area or overall. a piece of luggage with a two-star rating has managed to perform to a barely acceptable level, and there is much room for improvement.
3 stars – An average performance in this area or overall. a piece of luggage with a three-star rating has achieved a basic level of performance and is deemed adequate.
4 stars – a piece of luggage has performed over and above the accepted averaged in this category or overall. Luggage with a four-star rating has surpassed expectation and delivered in a particularly impressive way.
5 stars – a piece of luggage has performed at the highest possible level in a particular category or overall. Luggage with a five-star rating has delivered to the highest possible level, impressing the tester with its performance. We would happily spend our own money on it.

To find out more, head to our dedicated page explaining how we test motorcycle products.

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